Tuesday, September 30, 2008

It seems the language requirements for Japanese citizenship were too rigorous for the 31-year-old Brazilian. Allegedly things got off to a bad start when he didn't understand the question asking for his date of birth.

However, it has also emerged that even if he were to brush up on his nihongo, FIFA regulations would still bar him from playing for Japan as he's previously represented his native Brazil at Under-20 level.

Well, it seems Frontale have had some maintenance done on their blocked goalscoring pipes. Saturday's 5-goal demolition of Kashiwa Reysol will have reminded the other title hopefuls that the boys in black and blue are still a very real danger. But it could have been all the more emphatic were it not for the same old defensive blunders rearing their ugly heads.

It didn't take long to see the fruits of the plumbers' labours. Frontale were a goal up within 60 seconds. A speculative long ball brushed off Chong Tese's head and, while the Kashiwa defenders were deciding who should clear it, the Korean bundled past them and buried it in the back of the net. Poor defending but a decent finish from a man who's been struggling to hit the target of late.

And "the Asian Wayne Rooney" (as the big man's somewhat misleadingly become known) didn't have to wait long for his second. Renatinho, making his first start for Frontale, stole the ball and fed Juninho whose deflected shot fell kindly for Chong Tese to head past the helpless keeper.

The only notable action from a Reysol player in the first half came when Kengo Nakamura found himself booked following a fairly innocuous challenge on the ever-petulant Popo. The Brazilian striker/clown had to summon up all his circus skills - a swan dive followed by a "leaping salmon" and then a lengthy display of writhing on the ground - to con the referee into issuing a yellow card.

However, revenge came swiftly and sweetly. With the miraculously-recovered Popo nipping at his ankles, Juninho went tumbling just outside the Kashiwa penalty area. And up stepped Kengo to dispatch the resulting free kick with some style.

Just before half time, Renatinho made it 4-0 with a clinical striker's finish. The young Brazilian hasn't exactly set the world alight since joining Frontale, but until now he's only been offered a handful of chances from the bench. This, his full debut, still wasn't spectacular but he definitely has the raw talent to become a star at Frontale, assuming he maintains a good mental attitude during his development.

The second half was a very different affair from the first. Perhaps Frontale were worried they might have difficulty getting home if they filled their boots too much.

Initially things seemed to be following the same course, but after Chong Tese had his third (a fine header) ruled out for a very dubious offside, Reysol started to get a foothold in the game.

Frontale were probably guilty of taking their foot of the gas and allowing Kashiwa to mount some pressure, but it was two defensive abominations that actually brought them back into the game.

The first saw Kengo (of all people!) desperately lunging at a ball that Eiji Kawashima was just about to claim. Maybe there was no shout from the keeper, but it ended up with everyone falling over each other and the ball dropping for Reysol's half-time sub, Minoru Suganuma, to score.

The second was slightly less elaborate, but equally comical. Shuhei Terada, in his first game back since injury against Nagoya, somehow tripped over his own legs while attempting to a clear a Reysol cross. The result was a pile of Terada on the floor and a simple strike for full-back Yohei Kurakawa.

Luckily, the charity ended there. And with Kashiwa continuing to throw numbers forward, Frontale sealed the victory in the dying minutes with a lightning-quick counter.

Kengo sent a fiendish 50-yard ball into the wide open space behind the Reysol defence. The flight of the ball eluded the outrushing keeper, leaving Juninho free to angle his shot into the untended net and thereby chalk up his first goal in 11 games.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Is that it? Are those two dropped points the death rattle of Frontale's title challenge? Or was that simply the team clearing their collective throat for a final rousing chorus? Well, I don't hear any fat ladies singing, but there's certainly a chubby girl doing some laryngeal warm-up exercises somewhere.

A strange game this. For much of the first half both teams played in a way that was truly reflective of their contrasting league positions. Frontale were quick off the blocks with their fast, flowing passing game. The Marinos struggled to get a foot in and looked decidedly vulnerable at the back. But Kawasaki were unable to capitalise on their early superiority and were later made to rue their missed chances.

And chances there were - mostly for Chong Tese. The Korean brought a decent save out of Tetsuya Enomoto in the Marinos goal after a trademark through ball from Kengo Nakamura. Minutes later he was unlucky to see his best effort come back off the crossbar and he completed his hat-trick of first-half opportunities when he blasted into the side netting from a tight(-ish) angle. Kurotsu and Juninho also saw efforts go close, but as time ticked by it started to look like the mojo so obviously missing from the FC Tokyo performance was still lost.

Then came what can only be described as "one of those things". With minutes remaining of the first half, Yokohama won a corner from a typically timid attacking foray (Eiji Kawashima really should have done better than to turn the shot wide). Up strode Yuji "notoriously-dangerous-from-set-plays" Nakazawa, from the back. And the next thing you know it's 1-0 Marinos. Goal scorer? That's right, the very same Yuji "mark-me-loosely-at-your-peril" Nakazawa. Who'd have thought it?

Seconds later a moment of madness from Hiroki Ito, foolishly trying to beat his man at the edge of the 6-yard box, almost handed his opponents a 2-goal cushion. Fortunately, the resulting shot was straight at Kawashima and the referee's whistle brought some much-needed regrouping time.

Second half saw a rejuvenated Marinos much more involved against an increasingly desperate Frontale. This should have been a good thing as it created more space, but the rushed, panicky nature of Frontale's forward play was far from encouraging.

And then, just when it was looking like Kawasaki couldn't buy a goal, Yuji "reliable-as-you-like-especially-in-the-air" Nakazawa, under no real pressure, inexplicably headed into his own net from a Frontale corner. The Marinos had hardly deserved their lead, but they certainly didn't deserve this.

Their misery was compounded further when, 8 minutes later, Shohei Ogura was sent off for a second bookable offence. Frontale's numerical advantage had no obvious impact on the way the rest of the game played out. They continued trying to work the ball into dangerous positions too quickly, ultimately resulting in hurried shots that failed to find their target.

I'd like to say overall Frontale deserved to win this game, and to be fair Juninho and even Ito (in the dying seconds) had gilt-edged chances to wrap things up. But if they are to mount a final push this season (and I think that means winning all their remaining games) attacking displays like this one (and the FC Tokyo game) just won't cut the mustard.

If in fact it turns out that the dream is now over, it would be easy to point a finger at the hatful of wasted opportunities from the front men. The more telling statistic, however, is the number of goals conceded this season. Frontale have the 5th-worst defensive record in the league and have conceded twice as many goals as current leaders, Oita Trinita. (Oita Trinita? Current leaders? Still can't get my head round that.)

And it's not as if we've been on the wrong end of many drubbings. I think the away games to Kobe (4-1) and FC Tokyo (4-2) are the only times we've lost by more than a single goal). A little bit tighter at the back and the mountain left to climb wouldn't be quite so steep.

Anyway, speaking of mountains, onwards and upwards. P.S. If anyone finds the team's mojo can they return it in time for Saturday's game at Kashiwa Reysol.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Missed this one. FC Tokyo were a goal up after 5 mins and a man down after 40 and yet Frontale still couldn't pull it round.

That's 6 points the Gasmen have taken off us this year (which shows the progress they've made since last season when we beat them 5-2 and 7-0!). Could be very costly with 1st-placed Nagoya now 7 points ahead and just 9 games to play. But this is the J.League - anything can happen.

Interesting that Todoroki had the biggest crowd of all this weekend's games. There's something that doesn't happen very often.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Much as I hate to steal the thunder of a great performance against Kashima Antlers, I want to draw attention to some bad news I've just come across. The Rising Sun News, the long-time spiritual home of English-language discussion of Japanese football, is in danger of extinction.

The site's server has recently been hacked causing serious damage and, as it is a not-for-profit venture, the server's owner is no longer interested in maintaining it.

Matsu, the site's founder and chief writer, has been a source of information and entertainment for the past 8 years and can take a great deal of credit for the growth in popularity of Japanese football outside the Japanese-speaking world. For such a resource, and so many years of hard work, to be flushed away by an act of vandalism would be a real shame.

If you know how to help or want to leave a suggestion or comment, there's more on the subject here.

"Super Tan"? "Cometh The Hour, Cometh The Tan"? The tabloid headline writers would have been spoilt for choice after Hiroyuki Taniguchi once again saved the day for Kawasaki Frontale.

Not sure if that's the fourth or fifth time this season that Taniguchi's rescued at least a point from games that looked like they might be slipping away. And while I've never been dazzled by his involvement over 90 minutes, his knack of finding space in the right place at the right time is something without which Frontale would not be in the position they find themselves now.

In an exhilarating game at Kashima Stadium on Saturday night, both teams showed what a crunch match this was with the ferocity and commitment of their play. Both teams had opportunities to claim the victory, but on balance it was probably right that the spoils were shared.

The first half passed with no clear-cut chances for either side. Initially the home team looked to have a firm grasp on the game with their quick and accurate passing. Frontale for their part seemed a little awed by the occasion, giving the ball away carelessly whenever they did manage to wrest possession away from their opponents.

But after about 25 minutes the visitors started to settle and began to apply some concerted pressure on the Antlers goal. With the game now well and truly on, temperatures started to rise and tackles started to fly.

Koji Nakata was first to be cautioned after bringing down Juninho as he threatened to race in on goal. To be fair the Brazilian didn't need much invitation to go down, but the inciveness of the move had the Antlers backline beaten.

Next, Vitor Junior, who was tackling back in terrier-like fashion for much of the first half, made his way into the book with an over-excited lunge to which most of the Antlers team took great exception.

The gloves were now off and the game threatened to boil over when the referee awarded Frontale a free kick just outside the Antlers penalty area after some scuffling between Danilo and Vitor Junior. Kashima captain, Mitsuo Ogasawara went striding into the ensuing melee before suddenly collapsing to the ground like a sack of proverbial root vegetables. Did Juninho have a swing or was Ogasawara just looking to get someone sent off? Whichever, it was a very relieved referee who blew the half-time whistle a few minutes later.

Second half was a very different ball game. The nastiness creeping in at the end of the first half was gone, but the contest had lost none of its bite. More importantly the match began to open up and chances were being created almost at will.

The first real opening fell to Frontale - Vitor Junior hitting the foot of the post with a header. Then Marquinhos blasted over after Kurotsu had lost possession cheaply at the edge of his own area.

As the match wore on it became obvious that neither side was content to play for a draw. Kurotsu came off for the promising Renatinho, resulting in Frontale moving to what appeared to be a 4-2-4 formation.

Every other move was now resulting in a scoring opportunity and both keepers were called on to make good saves, but it was the Antlers who eventually broke the deadlock. Marquinhos received the ball just inside the box with his back to goal and somehow managed to beat two markers - Ito and Yamagishi - before firing past Kawashima. (It's harsh to point the figure of blame, but this has once again exposed the fact that Yamagishi is not a defender.)

But it's become something of a trademark of Frontale's play this season that they don't know when they're beaten. And just 5 minutes later they were back on level terms - Taniguchi losing his marker to head in a Vitor Junior corner.

The equaliser really took the wind out of the home team's sails and they were lucky to weather the next few minutes as their shellshocked defence watched Taniguchi miss with a free header and Juninho shoot straight at the excellent Sogohata in the Antlers goal, when squaring to Renatinho would surely have guaranteed a second.

However, before the game was out the Antlers came right back into it, twice being denied only by last-ditch blocks from the visitors' defence.

Frontale will definitely be the happier with the 1-1 scoreline. Playing away from home against a very good Antlers side and getting a valuable point out of it is a decent achievement. The Antlers, on the other hand, really needed to be getting as many points as possible on the board before their imminent return to ACL action (which is surely their priority this season).

With just 10 games left Frontale now need to make sure they don't let the 4-point gap between themselves and league leaders Nagoya grow any bigger, while at the same time hoping their rivals slip up. Should be an exciting run-in!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Some interesting nuggets in there including his fondness for speaking English and a motivational encounter with Yuji Nakazawa during his university days. (Not to mention the fact he wears the same coloured boots as Wayne Rooney!)